A transportation network for powered vehicles includes interconnected routes on which powered vehicles travel between locations. The routes connect to one another at intersections, which may also be referred to as junctions, interchanges, crossovers, or turnouts. Powered vehicles can be capable of changing routes at such intersections. By way of one example, a transportation network may be formed from interconnected railroad tracks that are configured to have rail vehicle systems traveling along the tracks. At some intersections, a rail vehicle system (e.g., one or more locomotives optionally coupled with one or more rail cars) may be guided by a turnout switch to change from one route to another route.
Some powered vehicle systems may operate according to a trip or mission plan (also referred to as an operating plan) while traveling along a route. The trip plan may be used, for example, to control operation of the vehicle system so that the vehicle system achieves or operates within certain parameters during the trip. These parameters can include fuel usage, which can be a significant expense in operating a vehicle system, and regulations that limit operation of the vehicle system in some manner. For example, regulations may require that the vehicle system will not exceed speed limits for certain segments of a route, exceed noise levels for certain areas or regions, or exceed national or regional fuel emission standards. Accordingly, the trip plan may be configured to operate the vehicle system in a manner that optimizes one or more parameters (e.g., fuel consumption) while also satisfying other conditions (e.g., speed limits, emissions, arrival time). With respect to a rail vehicle system, the trip plan may be used to automatically control tractive effort and/or braking of the rail vehicle system to arrive at a destination within a designated time while also minimizing the fuel consumption and/or emissions of the trip.
During operation of a vehicle system, however, the vehicle system may receive instructions or be commanded by an operator to deviate from the current trip plan. For instance, when approaching an intersection between two or more tracks, the operator (e.g., engineer) of a rail vehicle system may be notified by a divergence signal that the rail vehicle system should or will change to another track at a turnout switch. But the alternative track may not be part of the original route that was used to determine the trip plan. Presently, the operator may remove the rail vehicle system from automatic control and manually control the vehicle system as the rail vehicle system transitions from one track to the next. Some time after the vehicle system changes to a different track, a new trip plan may be generated, which may take a significant period of time to generate. During this manual operation and delay for trip plan generation, however, the vehicle system may lose fuel saving opportunities and/or time in which the vehicle system could have been automatically controlled. Additionally, this manual operation and delay for trip plan generation can interfere with the schedules of other vehicle systems traveling on the same routes. For example, the trip plans for several vehicle systems traveling within and/or through the same transportation network during the same or overlapping time periods may be based on each other so as to avoid collision or other interferences between two or more moving vehicle systems. If one of the vehicle systems deviates from the trip plan of the vehicle system and is delayed during generation of a new or revised trip plan, then the trip plans of other vehicle systems may be interfered with by the vehicle system that deviates from the trip plan.
Accordingly, a need exists for improved operation of a powered vehicle system when the vehicle system deviates from an operating plan.